"Estaría" o "Estuviera"?

Question

I was watching a documentary and one person who was translating from English to Spanish translated "Where would you be if you were not here?" as "Donde estarias?" and the other person replied "Estuviera muerto." Why did one use the conditional and the other the imperfect subjuntive? Are both correct? This has confused me so much. Thank you in advance!

"Spanish" "English" need to be capitalized. - rac1, Apr 1, 2017

right... - Kate_Porcelain, Apr 1, 2017

Tip: More people will vote for your posts if you select the applicable language proficiency levels on your profile page. - AnnRon, Apr 2, 2017

Answer 1

Although according to strict grammar rules, the second verb, "estaría" muerto, is the preferred choice. However you will hear occasionally at least among some Spaniards and some Mexicans the use of subjunctive in both verbs.

Example. If I were a man I would go to war. Si fuera hombre, iría a la guerra.

However I have read and heard it said thus: "Si fuera hombre, fuera a la guerra."

I prefer the conditional in the second verb.

Thank you for this explanation, it confused me mostly because it was coming from 2 native speakers, but now it makes sense :) - Kate_Porcelain, Apr 1, 2017

Answer 2

It's wrong. The answer is estaría muerto.

Answer 3

I asked that very same question to my Cuban friend Alfonso just now on the phone: "¿En dónde estarías hoy en día, si no hubieras salido?" He answered, "No lo sé, Si estuviera muerto o preso." Alfonso is 63 years old and came to the USA in 1980 with about 125,000 other Cubans. He was a campesino, so not very well educated. He harvested tobacco and was jailed several times for not participating in government rallies. I would have said, "estaría". So, although it may not be perfectly correct, it is used.

Very interesting! The person who used "estuviera" in the documentary I saw was an uneducated Mexican prisoner, so education/social class might play a role in this. - Kate_Porcelain, Apr 1, 2017

That is indeed a coincidence, but it does make sense. We don't all talk the same way: "could of/could have", "Watcha doin/What are you doing?", "Didja eat/Did you eat", ad naseum. - DonBigoteDeLaLancha, Apr 2, 2017

Answer 4

Perhaps the speaker was thinking "Es possible que. . . ." even though he didn't say it aloud, and used the subjunctive that would be correct after the impersonal construction.

Good point! However, that doesn't change what he actually said. - DonBigoteDeLaLancha, Apr 2, 2017